Březík leads throughout to secure Zlín ERC victory
Adam Březík completed a home win in the ERC event at Zlín after taking the lead on Saturday’s fourth stage and carrying a 9.7-second advantage into Sunday. A run of stage wins on leg two helped the Škoda driver extend his margin to 21.2 seconds with three stages remaining before he sealed victory with co-driver Zdeněk Bělák.
Adam Březík, driving a Hankook-equipped Škoda, took control of the sealed-surface ERC round in Zlín from stage four on Saturday. At the end of leg one, he led defending champion Miko Marczyk by 9.7 seconds, while championship leader Teemu Suninen was third, 1.6 seconds further back after moving ahead of Andrea Mabellini on the day’s closing Bunč stage.
On Sunday, Březík strengthened his position with three consecutive stage wins, including the Pindula and Semetín tests, to open a 21.2-second lead with three stages left. Suninen won the repeat run of Pindula, but Březík responded by setting the fastest time on the return to Semetín.
That left the Kateřinice Power Stage as the final test on the way to victory for Březík and fellow Czech co-driver Zdeněk Bělák. Mabellini had ended leg one 13.1 seconds off the lead in fourth, with the season-long ERC title contenders separated by 3.4 seconds at that point.